The Adventure of Getting Kitty (Part 1)

Once upon a time there was a couple who were at an impasse. It was not a particularly serious impasse, but it went on for some time. It was in regard to cats.

They both liked them, especially Siamese cats, but the disagreement was where such cats should live. He had grown up with outdoor cats and so had she, but while he firmly believed that this was where all cats should live, she did not. This was because they had had outdoor cats in the past and invariably their lives were cut short on the busy road in front of their home. One day after having to retrieve the shovel from the garage to take care of yet another demise she said, "No more." And she meant it. He said, "No cats in the house," and he meant it, too. So they had no cats. 

Years passed. No cat. The subject was approached now and then. Each continued to hold the same opinion. Meanwhile she noticed more songbirds in the yard and garden. And an occasional mouse in the house. "Do you think a cat in the house would really help?" he asked one day. "Yes!!" she said. And that ended the conversation. 

They had been married for many years and it was not often that he surprised her, but the day that he came home with a pet carrier containing an angry cat, she truly was surprised. Apparently he had heard an ad on their local call-in radio show which used two of his favorite words: "Siamese" and "free."

The cat was a beautiful Siamese, about a year old and clearly stressed by her change in living quarters. It seemed like the best place for this cat to make an adjustment to her new home would be the laundry room, a small room at the back of  the house containing a washer, dryer and freezer, but with plenty of room for a litter box and bowls for food and water. He carefully placed cardboard between the appliances to keep the cat in the main part of the room before releasing her. 

He cautiously opened the pet carrier and out came the cat. With one giant leap she sailed over the cardboard barriers to the top of the dryer. A second jump took her behind the appliances. It had happened so fast! They peered behind the appliances. No cat. By lying on the floor she could look under the freezer. There the cat was, back in the corner and out of reach. 

What the cat needed was time, time to adjust. So they pulled the door shut and gave her time. When they checked before heading to bed, the cat was still under the freezer. Sometime during the night the husband got up. When he returned to bed he whispered, "I think the cat got out of the room." How could that be? The door was closed! 

Ah, but it was not latched and apparently the cat had the ability to open doors that were not latched.

Where was the cat?  Will she ever be found? Stay tuned for installment two of The Adventures of Kitty.